Dhaka: The interim government in Bangladesh said that it has sent a note verbale, or an unsigned diplomatic communique, to India formally seeking the extradition of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
“We have conveyed our request for Sheikh Hasina’s return for judicial purposes,” said the country’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain.
Hasina was ousted from power and forced to flee to India on August 5 amid widespread, student-led protests against her Awami League government. She had been the prime minister of Bangladesh for 16 years. Nobel laureate economist Muhammad Yunus took over as the head of Bangladesh’s interim government on August 8.
The interim government has said it plans to investigate Hasina in connection with allegations that she ordered the killings and enforced disappearances of dissidents during the public uprising against her regime in July and August. A total of 51 cases have been filed against her, including 42 for murder.
India confirmed receiving the note verbale from the Bangladesh High Commission. “At this time, we have no comment to offer on this matter,” the official spokesperson of India’s Ministry of External Affairs was quoted as saying.
Graft probe against Hasina’s family
Meanwhile, Bangladesh has launched a probe into the alleged $5 billion embezzlement connected to a Russian-backed nuclear power plant by ousted PM Sheikh Hasina and her family, the anti-corruption commission said. Along with Hasina, those subject to the inquiry include her son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, and niece, Tulip Siddiq, a British lawmaker and govt minister.
The allegations were raised by a writ seeking an investigation filed in the high court by Hasina’s political opponent, Bobby Hajjaj, chairman of the Nationalist Democratic Movement party. “We seek justice through our court,” Hajjaj said. Key allegations are connected to the funding of the $12.65 billion Rooppur nuclear plant, the country’s first, which is bankrolled by Moscow with a 90% loan.
A statement from the commission said it had launched an inquiry into allegations that Hasina and family members had “embezzled $5 billion” from the Rooppur plant via “various offshore bank accounts in Malaysia”. It said its investigations were examining “questionable procurement practices related to the overpriced construction” of the plant.
